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Last year, Alex Smith’s last-second, divisional-playoff touchdown pass to Vernon Davis inspired tears, whoops and hugs as the 49ers secured their first playoff win since 2003.

Last week, Colin Kaepernick’s 444 total yards and four touchdowns in a 45-31 divisional-playoff win over the Packers inspired … smiles? Handshakes?

On Wednesday, defensive tackle Justin Smith noted the difference in the postgame atmosphere after the two victories. True, last year’s win over the Saints was stuffed with far more drama, but Smith suggested another reason for last week’s muted celebration.

“We were so excited after winning the Saints game,” Smith said. “I didn’t feel the same, ‘Oh, we did it,’ after the Packers game and we beat a heck of a team in the Packers. I feel like the whole team kind of got a sense of there’s more to this thing then just getting to this game. As a whole team top to bottom, coaching staff, we’re better prepared to handle it and know what’s in front of us.”

What’s in front of the 49ers is their first Super Bowl berth in 18 years, a prize they can secure with a win over the Falcons in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday at the Georgia Dome.

As Smith noted, there’s a different vibe around the team that entered the 2012 NFC Championship Game on the heels of an-out-of-nowhere 13-3 season that had been preceded by eight straight non-winning years. A trendy Super Bowl pick since the spring, San Francisco began talking about a title months before the 2012 season opener. In June, Smith, a 12-year veteran who appeared in one playoff game in his first 10 seasons, began telling teammates how quickly windows of opportunity can slam shut.

“The mindset that I’ve kind of been spreading a little bit to the guys is, ‘You know, your team isn’t always stacked forever,’” Smith said at the time. “… You have certain windows. And you don’t want to get into ‘Is this our window? Do have two years, three years?’”

It’s a message Smith has repeated leading up to Sunday’s game. And linebacker Patrick Willis, his fellow defensive co-captain, has echoed his words.

“This opportunity is rare, it doesn’t come around often,” Willis said. “… To have this opportunity again and to be here, it’s one of those things we don’t take for granted. We know that window for chances like this is slim and we have to take advantage of the opportunity.”